august and christine hollis life on the run fringe fanfic chapter 5
by graykitty5
Summary: august and christine continue to flee, but their time is running out. their relationship further develops in this chapter. fun, fluff, naughtiness in this chapter. enjoy reading with wine or beer.
**Chapter 5: august and Christine hollis 'life on the run'.** august and Christine continue their journey together. But How long can they continue to hide from the assassin or august's colleagues?

 **The lost childhood** : august and christine walked past a playground at the center of the little town. It called to her inner child. christine wondered, "has august had a childhood? Did he play with toys or on a playground?" she asked, "when you were a child, did you play at playgrounds?" "no," he responded. "remember, I was grown to my present age in an artificial growth womb," he stated. "would you like to play now? we're too big for most of the equipment, but we can still fit into the swings. We could even try the dinasaur monkey bars," she said cheerfully. "come on, come on!" she beckoned and ran towards the swings. He _felt_ compelled to run towards her. He observed her swing. she appeared relaxed, invigorated with the rocking motion, a twinkle in her eyes when she looked at him. He realized that he wanted to participate.

****Slow, low, high, fast-august experimented with the sensations caused by the rocking motion on the swing, feeling a dormant need, a wish, to have had the opportunity to experience the rocking motion by a parent of a child, as he had observed with _her kind_. He closed his eyes and tried to imagine how that would have _felt_ , to be held and rocked. He opened his eyes, back to the present. He thought, "this is an activity I will do again." aloud to christine he said, "may we try the dinosaur bars now?" in an eager, excited voice. They stood before the equipment. "what do I do?" he asked. "here, like this, hang from the bars, try to cross from bar to bar without touching the ground," christine said and demonstrated. He followed suit. "I like this, too," august announced. They found the playscape and chased one another over and around it. She taught him how to play 'ring-around the rosie'. "we all fall down!" she yelled, and they dropped to the ground, "is this experience called playtime?" august asked. "yes," Christine answered cheerfully. she took him to the bumper car ride, which delighted him to go fast and then bump her or others. She took him to the miniature golf course. After she explained the rules of the game, he observed, "so, if I calculate the variables of wind, distance, ball weight, club weight, my balance, maintained posture, I should be able to putt perfect hole-in-one?" she realized that she would lose this game. He made the first three holes, while she struggled. "will you help me?" she asked. "certainly," he responded. she practiced and practiced since there was no one else at the course. christine wondered if he planned it that way. They finished their game, with august the clear winner, but she had fun all the same. ****

 **Antique shopping at the old house** : the sales lady at the jewelry counter greeted them with a cheery hello and welcome. inside the antique shop, Christine and august parted ways with a kiss, to browse-to him the items hardly seemed antique as he had had access to them whenever in time suited him. thus he was surprised when two pieces of jewelery attracted his attention. He approached the jewelry counter and the sales clerk greeted him, " hello, would you like to see any pieces?" the sales clerk asked. "yes, I would like to see those earrings and necklace," he said as he pointed. "oh, these are great vintage pieces. I bought them years ago at an estate sale out in los angeles," the sales clerk enthused. august inspected the pieces carefully. "yes, I'll purchase them," he said. "oh wonderful!" she exclaimed. "are they a Christmas gift for the young lady who accompanied you into the shop?" the sales clerk asked. he thought to himself, "a gift? Christmas gift? I have never bought a gift." he found he liked the idea. He said, "yes." the sales clerk noticed a goofy look on his face. She gave him the total, and he paid cash. She put the set into a gift box and wrapped it in pretty gift wrap. "now keep it a surprise, put it into your briefcase," the sales clerk enthused. When he and Christine rejoined, he asked her,"did you find anything you wish to purchase?" "no, nothing. Lots to see, but nothing struck my fancy. Did you find anything?" Christine asked. "yes, I found a surprise Christmas gift for you!" "ooohhh, I am intrigued!" she said, her eyes brightening. ***

later the sales clerk would remark to her coworker," he looked like a character from an old movie, with that fedora, paid cash, cash, for that jewelry set with the interesting romantic history.. .glad to have finally sold them to a man in love."***

"didn't you just love that old house? That one big room upstairs would have made the perfect art studio. I can just picture our children calling to me, running up the stairs. . ., " Christine stopped abruptly, turned red, and realized what she had said, "aaahhh, I , I oh, I didn't mean to say that-I am dreadfully embarrassed."she tried to move past august, avoiding eye contact, but he caught her arm, gently, looked deeply into her eyes, closely studying her expression, unable at that moment to read her thoughts. Finally he spoke,"it is a beautiful thought. Hope, faith," he stated mysteriously, as another thought formed in his mind, one overlooked possibility to save her life, to make the others notice her importance, not just to himself, but to all.

 **Hottub at the log cabin:** she saw the light blush on his cheeks by her suggestion-"go grab a towel and get undressed-let's take a dip in this hottub."***

they stood clad in towels, side by side, at the side of the hottub, not looking at the other, sudden shyness overcoming them. seconds passed, a minute passed. Finally christine took the plunge and said, "I want you to look at me, my body, I want you to see it, to share it with you." he turned to look at her, and she dropped the towel. She stood nude. He observed Her smooth skin, her soft curves, the fullness of her breasts, deep wine colored nipples, the curls of brown at her womanhood, her heart shaped bottom with the little dimples at the waist. She appeared to him to be beautiful, appealing, arousing. she displayed sensuality, confidence, bravery, vulnerability, her whole self. August calculated the only response that seemed appropriate, "I love you!" he knew what he _felt_ , love _felt_ important, unique, love for her felt special, life-changing. He looked into her eyes, holding her gaze, and repeated the words, "I love you." august did not demand her to say the words in return. It was a statement of genuine love to give his love whether christine returned the sentiment, accepted it, or rejected it. She hugged him tightly, released him, and stepped up and over into the hot tub. august dropped his towel and stepped up and over.

 **Fantasy:** "a fantasy about a make-out session?" august asked, puzzled. "yes, in the backseat of a car. You know, like teenages who tell their parents they're going to the movies, but instead go to a secluded spot to park the car, then proceed to kiss and touch and explore," Christine explained. "I may have observed them. What are the requirements?" he asked, reviewing his brain for anything about teenages. "a car, with a backseat, a secluded place to park, at dark, no one around for at least an hour," she said. August said, "I will add it to my list of observation parameters."***

several nights later he asked, "would you like to fullfill your fantasy now?" "what?" christine asked. " your fantasy about a make-out session. I need to know now. There is a secluded farm on a road behind us. there will be no one in the area for 1 hour 10 minutes. I need to know now. Yes or no?" he stated. "yes," she responded. to herself she thought, "I doubt he fully understand this, but he will soon enough." He parked the car behind the barn and turned off the headlights, turned off the engine. "you lead the way," he said. "okay, backseat!" Christine exclaimed. August was barely seated in the backseat before she is straddled him. She pulled off her coat, clasped her hands behind august's head, kissed his lips with a passionate force. She broke the kiss, then pushed his jacket off, she placed little light kisses across his face and the top of his head. christine removed his tie, unbuttoned his shirt, tugged it free of his trousers. She caressed his arms, his hands, ran her hands underneath his shirt, underneath his undershirt. She rubbed his thighs, she kissed his neck, his mouth, tangled her tongue with his, pressed herself against his pelvis, against his bulging erection. She whispered in his ear, "you make me feel so horny, my pussy can feel your cock, your hands arouse me, I'm getting wetter and wetter." she pushed against him again. He truly did not understand the words she used, but he understood the meaning from the way she moved against him. He _felt_ himself growing harder and longer still. Their tongues continued to probe and play. He _felt_ the urge to push against her. She broke off the kisses, and unbottened her shirt, and unclasped her bra, and placed his hands upon her breasts. She continued rocking against his erection, which sent bolts of pleasure through their minds and bodies. She moaned over and over as their bodies pressed together. "oh, your cock feels so good pressing right there on my clit!" she breathed huskily in his ear. and although his mind and body were consumed with desire and sexual arousal, he managed to keep track of the minutes ticking by. Her rocking motion brought him back to his thoughts on her and what they were doing. He _felt_ the need to thrust against her, that same feeling he had the time when he explored himself. "fascinating," he said. "Christine?" he said between kisses, "what is the goal of a make-out session?" "sexual excitement between us, and oh, I would love to orgasm, " she said and proceeded to passionately French kiss him, kissed his neck, rubbing and pressing against his pelvis. "Christine, by my knowledge of the length of time remaining, you may not achieve the goal," august said. "august, I need release. . .I am so horny, and this has me excited. I know you can feel my mind," she said. he replied, "if by horny, you mean incredibly, extremely sexually aroused that needs to be satified by orgasm, then yes, I am horny and need release, too, and to talk about my urge and need for you is increasing my level of enjoyment." He broke away from her again and asked, "those words you used, 'cock', 'pussy;, do they heighten your level of arousal?" 'yes, and it's called dirty-talk. I'll teach it to you later, right now, just listen and enjoy," she commanded. "I will," he whispered and kissed her again. She fumbled with the zipper of his pants. "pull them down," she commanded. He noticed that his erection felt much less constricted, sticking out of the opening of his boxer shorts. She moved off and away from him, and he briefly wondered if he had done something wrong. But that was short lived as he watched her proceed to strip off her pants and straddle him yet again, and kiss him hard and long. "how many more minutes?" she asked. "enough," he sighed as more pleasure surged through him with this closer contact between their bodies. They groaned, pressing together, so stimulated."feel my lips part and surround your shaft, even through my panties. Feel the warmth of me slidding up and down, can you feel my wetness through my panties? I want to feel the head of your cock pressing against my swollen clit, even through my panties," she pleaded. He caressed her back, her bottom, kissing her deeply. "ohm yess, keep pressing against me. I am so close to coming. So close august. Come with me come with me august," she begged. Although he did not quite understand the term, he knew the response, "yes, yes, Christine, I will go with you anywhere, any place, and time, I will come to you always, always come and go with you." "I want you, I need you," they started speaking together. He began to speak his language, and she found herself speaking his language, too. She realized she could see his soul, his thoughts, feel his body pulse, and to her enjoyement, he _felt_ hers too. Simultaneously, their bodies shuddered and released. Wave upon wave of pleasure shook them. Finally they came down from the plane of existence they had hovered.

 **Periods:** her period came a few days later. She felt miserable, bloated and crampy, with a headache and grouchy. "ugh, I hate menstrual cycles like this. I do not feel well, not feeling well at all," christine complained. "is there something I can do to help?" august asked with concern in his voice. "well, actually a heating pad would feel awesome. And midol," she said. "I will go get those items," he said. "can you get some maxi pads, too, please?" she asked. "certainly," he responded happily. august entered the drug store, found the necessary items-as he walked towards the front of the store, an item to his left caught his attention, a greeting card entitled 'Get well soon" featuring a sad-faced cat with a thermometer in its mouth. he picked it up to inspect it."I want her to feel better," he thought. He had observed _her kind_ give cards. "I can give her this card," he happily thought. Then he noticed a balloon with floral design, and the words 'I love you'. yet again, another product that expressed the emotions he felt. "she likes flowers, I have professed my love, perfect!" august thought, and smiled. The sales clerk gave him a curious look and said, "you're the first fellow ever to come through here smiling about buying feminine products and going the extra mile with a card and balloon. She must be one special lady." "yes, she is special," august said, _feelin_ astonished-a stranger finally understood how he _felt_ about Christine. There was hope for _his kind_ , if he kept faith. ***

he opened the door of the hotel room and felt an odd sense of panic when she was not at the couch where she had been when he left. Relief flooded him when she called to him from the other room. With a huge smile and eyes bright, he handed her the bag, card and balloon. "oh, this is a surprise, a nice surprise," christine said with a smile. "do you feel better? Do you feel special?" he asked. "yes, yes, I do," she said and noticed that the inside of the card was blank. "you are so sweet and thoughtful, so sweet and thoughtful," she smiled at him. august _felt_ pleased, mission accomplished.***

he bought her more cards. 'missing you', 'for a dear friend', 'hello', 'happy belated birthday'. she realized that he was unqiue, special, important as she watched him swinging on the swings at the playground.

 **Three days before Christmas** : august checked them into a hotel-"snow, snow and more snow". She said that was what she wanted, for it to feel like the holiday season. He obliged. christine sang Christmas carols, and he recalled the day Charles Dickens finished writing the book. He wondered where he could find a one horse open sleigh, hear jingle bells, hear angels sing. He had observed Christmas traditions world wide, through space and time, just observed, never interacted, never participated. ***

since their tryst in the car, the physical aspect of their relationship had gone into overdrive. They spent hours in bed, exploring one another, wanting to touch, to kiss, to whisper, her teaching him to 'talk dirty'. "I want to show you all of me, like the night in the hottub, except with something special," she announced. She stripped off her clothes, her bra and panties. August enjoyed the disrobing She lay back upon the bed and began to sensually caress herself, already feeling so wet, so ready. He watched fascinated, penis even more enlarged, she caressed herself again. She felt very bold. She skimmed her hand over his erection. She rubbed her fingers again her womanhood, and then brought her fingers back to his his face. he could smell her strong aroma of arousal. He instinctively licked her fingers, relishing in the taste. They both sighed. "I want you to have a great view!" she exclaimed. christine positioned herself so that he could see her, all of herself. She touched herself as she had done so long ago in that motel room, when the time he had suddenly appeared at her side, the incident that had never spoken of. Her fingers disappeared into her womanhood, the wetness, over and over. he observed, and it intensified her arousal, her hips thrusting, wiggling, watching him watch her. august willed himself not to orgasm yet. As She continued stroking herself, Christine's breath quickened. "I'm gonna come, august, I'm gonna come for you1" she gasped. she bucked up off the bed, hips thrusting up and down as spasms of pleasure swept through her. He watched transfixed, overcome by various emotions from arousal, to gratitude, to love, joy, happiness, hope, faith. She had finally lay still and he lay down beside her. "you are crying," she observed. "why? And why am I?" he asked. "why are we crying?" he asked puzzled. "we are overcome by strong emotional sensations. it's a normal response," she assured him. "but, I do not feel sad, I feel gleeful," he said. "it's tears of happiness," she assured him again."let's snuggle under the covers for a little while," she suggested. "august, I need to tell you something.. ." she faced him and said, "I love you, I have for many months, I love you!" he smiled. "I love you, too!" he exclaimed.

*** august asked her to do it again, the masturbation, watching in fascination. "you have to learn the techniques of foreplay," christine teased. "I don't mind the demonstration," he teased. And he was surprised and delighted when she showed him just why he needed to observe, learning to touch her in just the right sensuous and stimulating manners. He learned about the joys of licking her womanhood, learned that his tongue could stimulate her so much, especially with the help of his fingers. And he brought her to mutiple orgasms, enjoying the mental connection that occurred with each one. ***

He discovered the joys of 'blow jobs', feeling her tongue swirl around the head of his penis, her mouth suck, hand stroke, squeeze and stroke him again, softly caress play his scrotum and testicles. Mouth bobbing up and down, practically swallowing him as far as she could. She complimented the look, the size, the curve, the girth of his penis. "just like that, ohh, yeess!" he groaned, growled, moaned, sighed as she continued her ministrations. "Oh, Christine, oh," he thrust into her hands, her mouth, she sucked, and sucked, when finally he he yelled, "oh oh yess, " and ejaculated into her mouth. She swallowed the fluid, pumping him, tingling sensations coursing through them. Their eyes met, he was thunderstruck, gripping the covers of the bed. "I . . I never knew. . .," he stammered. "do you want me to satify you?" "yes, would you, please?" she begged," it won't take long, just finger me, I'll come quick." he used his practiced technique to touch her, slid a finger inside her, touching her clit, feeling the moisture, tasting her with his lips, dipping his fingers into her again, cupping her mound, slipping them into her again and again. He explored her folds. She touched him, too, as he had already grown hard again. His fingers wiggled, stroked, pressed, feeling her excitement grow, build. he wanted to share the orgasm experience with her, "yes, yes, be with me, completely!" he said as he opened his mind to her, her to his, their thoughts merged. she could hear him speaking in his language. "now, now, now! " they screamed and orgasmed, spasms shaking them, wave after wave of pleasure, images from their minds melding. "I love you!" they spoke together.

 **Two days before Christmas** : by now, august could sing along to the Christmas carols, admired the holiday lights shinning from the houses, the towns they passed through. August and christine had watched holiday parades, visited numerous santa clauses, nativities, Christmas pagents, normal, just normal. . .danger a far away thought for her. he was glad about that, shielding her, protecting her, giving her normal. But the situation weighed upon him. Still an abnormal situation, in his mind, he _felt_ guilty, kidnapping her, sedating her, tying and gagging her in that motel room, scaring her like that, all those seemingly logical steps, measures to take to protect her, at that point in time, a hasty plan, short term, not realizing how long this would take, to convince his colleagues of her importance. Logical at that time, not understaning how _her kind_ really felt, what _her kind_ really thought. He _felt_ , guilt, heavy guilt, shame. He needed to apologize to her for this, for all of this. How could they continue to run. could they find a way to leave the county? He had considerable financial assets. He had just visited one of his banks, deposited their sketch books and notebooks into a safe deposit box. He needed to tell _them_ about love, how he loved her, how she loved him. Was that the key to making _them_ understand her unique value?

 **Holiday décor** : "can we decorate the hotel room with holiday décor? Even put up a Christmas tree and stockings?" Christine asked. "certainly," he answered seeing her happy smile. They drove to the mega mart, shoppers walking in, some wearing Santa caps, reindeer headbands, hurried, last minute shopping. He heard a bell ring, observed a volunteer in a red santa cap, a red kettle. he observed the shoppers drop money into the kettle. he took a $100 bill from his wallet, placed it into the kettle. "thanks mister, merry Christmas, God bless you!" exclaimed the volunteer. The holiday decore was picked through, but Christine knew that mismatched items would work, anything would be fine with august. On one aisle, august observed the santa caps. . .he placed it into the cart, a Christmas tree, garlands, along with holiday bulbs, strings of lights, ornaments. ***

The boxes especially caught august's attention. "boxes?" christine was puzzled. "I have long observed wrapped boxes in various shapes, oblong, circle, square, trapazoid packages placed under the Christmas tree, adorned with bows," august said. "We can do that," she said. she saw his happy smile. It took him a while to pick out the proper boxes, getting a second shopping cart, systematically choosing the boxes. he had a plan, she observed as he read the Christmas tree box, heard him read the circumference of the tree, its height. "we need wrapping paper and bows and tape," he called to her. "Oh, and more ornaments, we don't have enough to properly fill the spaces. aren't you going to choose boxes?" he did not understand her method of box selection. it was completely random, no system to choosing size and shape. by his calculation, she lacked the right amount of tape, the right amount of wrapping paper and bows. "she'll learn," he thought. ****

"a gift?" he had only recently for the first time ever bought a gift at the antique shop a few weeks ago, the surprise he kept hidden in his briefcase. "do we need to buy gifts for each box? September and I have exchanged wrapped shaped boxes many times, as we had observed your kind do, but we never put a gift inside it, although one time January did give May a wrapped box with a bottle of hot sauce in it. September and I could not, did not understand why. It seemed an illogical way to transfer one item to another person. After all, it did destroy the wrapping paper, and the box, " august explained.***

"it doesn't have to be precise-we don't need a light string for every square foot of the room. I just want a few strings of lights. It can be a random arrangement. Try it my way. . .," she coaxed him. A look of panic crossed his face. "what, what is it? Do we need to leave?" she looked around, scanning the aisle for men in black, a person with a gun. "oh, I made an error, an error in my calculations of the number of boxes I needed for the tree. I fogot to factor in the surprise gift from the antique store," he said. "it's okay, random, remember random can be your friend, too," she soothed.

 **Gift shopping** : christine meandered through a store. "what to buy august? Never had a gift. he'd like almost anything, but I want to put thought into it. I should know what to buy him," she thought. At one store she found a superman t-shirt. At another store, a chocolate shop, she saw a sign 'chocolate covered peppers'. "at last!"she exclaimed. She asked the sales clerk, "which is the hottest?"***

'gifts for Christine' he called this adventure. august realized it was possible to devise a strategic shopping plan. Go into each store, walk through and quickly assess the items for sale. He knew the shapes of each box. thus he could find a gift that fit into each one. He stared with the round packages. He had made numerous observations of Christine's likes and dislikes. This was a sound plan for project 'gifts for Christine' as he had labeled his journey. The signs on the store displays were most helpful and assuring, seeming to know exactly how he felt about Christine-'for your someone special', 'for the important person in your life', 'a gift as unique as she is' 'precious moments' 'magical moments in the making'. he found every item needed to fill his many boxes. ***

christine felt august approach even before she spotted him, adorned in his red santa hat and carrying a red slurpie.***

august spotted the black bently in the parking lot. He wondered, "did she see it?" he had picked out a gift for September, with whom he would meet tonight as arranged.

 **Guardian angel** : something felt special. Perhaps it was a Christmas tree, adorned with perfectly arranged ornaments by august, and in a random pattern by Christine. The lights strung around the room, wrapped gifts in a symmetrical pattern at the base of the tree, at least his were arranged perfectly. hers were again stacked randomly. holiday music played on the radio. Christmas stockings hung on the dresser. They sat admiring the tree. "these gifts are all here for me? I can attempt to guess the gifts inside?" august asked looking thrilled. "go ahead," Christine exclaimed. He chose a package. "metallic, weighs 10 grams, four inches long," he grinned, "am I right?" "it's a surprise," she teased. As they looked at the tree, and inspected the presents, Christine realized that something felt familiar about him, but something from long ago, a nagging memory, she realized, one from long suppressed. She studied him as discreetly as possible, willing herself to remember. "I think, I think remember you!" she exclaimed. "from long ago, since I was a child, there's been a memory in my mind, no one believed me then that I had seen my guardian angel. I have put it out of my mind, until now," she gasped, "the image is becoming clearer. . . he was wearing a hat, oh my gosh, it's a fedora, I see it now. . .," she continued, "after the earthquake, after I discovered that my parents were dead, I stood beside the car. . .," she continued to search her memory "a man, standing there, compassion on his face. The look on his face, gave me comfort, hope, a reason for me to have survived the accident. my adoptive mother didn't believe that I'd seen an angel. She insisted that it was a figment of my imagination for the year after the accident, hysteria due to the trauma I'd witnessed, was going through. . . I even drew a picture of him, the guardian angel-he had a briefcase, I see it now. My art teacher kept the picture because she was impressed by my artistic abilities. I finally decided it was a figment of my imagination. Until now, I remember you! you were, you are real. My guardian angel!" Christine exclaimed. august went to his briefcase wordlessly, and opened it, and brought something to her, it was her stuffed animal.

 **September:** when august was certain that she was sound asleep, he dressed and drove to the all-night diner. He joined September at the table, fedoras on the table, both briefcases on the table. September spoke first, "I received your post card." he pulled it from his coat pocket. 'Greetings from Maine for the Holiday Season' it read. "are you ready to surrender?" September asked. "yes, and no," august answered. September titled his head and said, "December does not want you killed. december convinced windmark to let Ms Hollis live. The assassination attempts were called off many months ago." "I felt that Christine would be allowed to live if we surrendered. Intuition," said august. September said, "intuition? Interesting. But you must be punished, December says you must be punished. windmark is consumed by anger and embarrasment over this situation between you and Ms Hollis. Of course, windmark does not call it anger or embarrasment, but he raised his voice with December. We do not understand the reason ms. Hollis is so important. windmark wants to question her, to perform a few experiments in order to understand the reason you state she is important. We 11 have kept a watchful eye on you since you fled with ms hollis. I found an young lady to pose as Christine in a few telephone calls. We were able to convince the police to call off their search for ms. Hollis. We did not want public attention drawn to ourselves or to her." "how did you explain her kidnapping to the public?" august asked and said, "there were witnesses." "the police circulated a report that ms. Hollis participated in an art movie project, that it was a scene filmed for an art movie," replied September. " that explains her professor. . ." august interjected. They sat in silence. The waitress approached. "good evening gentlemen, what can I get you?" she asked. September said, "coffee black, please and a plate of your hottest peppers." august said, " glass of water, please, and the pecan pie." august observed September remove his notebook from his briefcase and write something. September wrote 'August Observations'. when the waitress left, august told September, with a sigh, "I will accept punishment if it guarantees Christine's life is saved." September said, "I will inform December you agree to the conditions of surrender." "September, please let Christine and I enjoy the remainder of the holiday season. I owe it to her, and so much more," august emplored. "enjoy?" September asked with a slight tingle puzzlement. "September,I have transformed, evolved, my intellect and senses, and emotions, working in harmony. . . At various times your actions and decisions have been guided by feelings. You know it to be true. We've all experienced it. We were designed to supress our emotions in connection to judgement process, but that connection can be reformed, because that part of our brain remains in tact. We've all felt, if even in a limited capacity, we just didn't always recognize it. Didn't understand. I understand now," august explained, pleaded with September to understand. September, thought to the time when he intervened in the life of a one of _her kind_. finally said, "I did come here guided more by my concern for you than be logic to obtain surrender terms. windmark is poised to take you by force. I wanted to help you avoid that situation. I could not allow that to happen to you or to ms. Hollis for a reason beyond the logical rational one. windmark is displeased with the manner by which December handled your actions. He does not want December to treat you with mercy. windmark wants you both for experiments. But ms. Hollis' life in guaranteed safe. December entrusted me to find you when the postcard arrived," he explained. "I appreciate your concern. It's because we are friends,you and I, more than that we are brothers-these relationships hold high value to those we observe," august said. September considered the statement and asked, "what of your relationship with ms. Hollis?" august smiled and said, "to put it simply, I love her. We connect in a mental and physical way that surpasses logic, though logic is intergrated with the emotions and feelings. When we bond, we can go to a higher plane of existence together." he looked deeply into his brother's eyes. "she loves me, the paradox that I am. She is unique, important, special in that respect," august explained. September made a few notes in his notebook. "we must leave no later than mid-January. There has been a lull in events. I am on holiday," September said. "thank you," august said. "how will ms. Hollis react to surrender?" September asked. "I hope she understands," august said. "after you tell her, I could speak with her? We could tell her together? Logic dictates that I should meet her," September states. "yes, that seems logical," august said. They shook hands before parting."happy holidays," august said to September as he handed him a beautiful, precisely wrapped package. September handed august a precisely, beautifully wrapped box. September noted the weight of his box and said," I believe there is an object inside the box." "yes, there is a surprise inside the box. . . We have misunderstood the gift giving tradition of _their kind_ ," august said as he proceeded to explain the error. September said, slightly embarrassed for one of his kind," I did not place a surprise in box for you." august assured him, "it's okay, please open your surprise." September studied it, decided the most efficient method to unwrap it, and tilted his head when he saw the item. "what is this?" september asked. "a snow globe shake it and watch the snow flakes fall" . September shook it, watched the blizzard, shook it four more times. "thank you. . . This is my fourth gift tonight gift," September answered." "fourth gift?" august asked puzzled. "ah, the gentleman at the video store gave me two movies-one from the romance section and one from the adults only section. And a box of condoms," stated September. august burst into hysterical laughter.

august returned to the hotel room, undressed and snuggled next to christine, in her luxurious warmth, and she sighed when she felt him lay beside her. He laid awake for several hours, "experiments?"

 **Meeting September and surrender** : the diner had a considerable amount of guests awaiting seating on this Christmas eve, but august managed to get them a table quickly, in a quiet corner. They ordered the Christmas eve special. Christine knew she had seen a figure in the parking lot, dressed like august, hat, briefcase, knew she had seen one of them, thought she had detected the slight nod august made in that direction. She knew, the time had come, time had run out. "surrender," august told her, "to December, to windmark, to save your life. I felt you would be allowed to live. I knew you were safe. You should meet September." "I knew we would eventually die or have to surrender. I pushed it out of my mind for as long as possible, but then I saw him, this September. How did he find us?" christine asked. "I summoned him with a holiday postcard. he appreciated the card by the way," august explained. "oh well, that is nice," she said sarcastically. She fumed. He had done this behind her back, no discussion, led them to her. august pleaded with her that he finally knew what to say to December, to windmark. "with my developed sense of intuition, I knew you would not be killed. I knew my colleagues would allow you to live!" he pleaded with Christine. "Do you trust me?" august asked. Christine considered the question and looked into his eyes. She remembered how she felt when she met him, when he had asked her that same question. "yes," she stated. ***

their food arrived. Christine let her anger subside. "What's done is done. I trust you," she told august. "do you want to met September? He's right outside," august said. christine peered outside trying to find him, but did not see him. august gave some type of signal and quickly September was seated at the table. No one else had noticed his arrival. "September, I would like you to met Christine," august introduced. "it is a pleasure to met you," said September in the formal, flat tone, she had heard august use at the beginning of their journey. "glad to met you," she responded, not sure if this were true, but it was Christmas eve. The waitress finally noticed September, and took his drink order, which was cherry coke. "interesting choice," Christine thought. September assessed the way august was dressed, casual clothing, armed draped across the back of Christine's chair. September quietly observed, making notations in his notebook-the number of glances made between august and Christine, the way the spoke to the other, topics-ham tastes delicious, earring, something about earrings-"what did you say about the earrings?" September asked. "do you like them, they are a pair I found at an antique shop, and unbeknownst to me, they were a pair that had belonged to Christine's grandmother," said august. Christine added, "her name was Christine, See the letter 'c'?" she showed September, who promptly wrote a note. September kept writing notes-hand-holding, the way august now spoke like one of them, his body language like one of them, but still maintaining the old self, somehow a blend, a hybrid. To her amazement, September ordered a slice of pecan pie, just like she and august. September felt his tingle in his neck at his technology implant. He had a _fondness_ for her kind. "down to business. . .," august spoke. "Christine is aware of the surrender conditions. We are concerned about experiments. Do you know what kind?" "December says it is tests, verbal, questions and answers, research. That's what windmark had told him," September said. "and what about August's punishment?" Christine asked. "experiments. December has not been told. He himself has been placed on probation, told to keep better control of us, keep us on task with our mission. december is under scrutiny. We observers cannot interfere with the natural course of human events, and august will be made an example of the reasons not to do so," September continued. ***

 **September's Apology:** september explained to Christine the evolution of his colleagues search for she and august, how they scaled back search efforts. "we did question our logic-the decision to assassinate you. We experienced less and less of our telepathic connection to august. We did experience a certain level of curiosity about you, about august's actions-the more time that elapsed, the stronger the curiosity and the less we believed in assassination. We wanted to observe you, to understand your importance, as august had explained the day he saved you. We observers were, are beginning to feel-connected to you in some manner as yet to be determined. Would you forgive me, please for my past actions?" September asked. Christine sighed and looked at september then to Thursday, then back to september. "would you feel regret if I had died? If my death had hurt august?" she asked. "yes, I would have felt something as we are all telepathically linked. I am able to hear my his thoughts-it stands to reason I would have felt empathy," said september. "would you allow an assassin to kill me if windmark changes his mind?" she asked. "no-I will prevent that," answered september. "and face punishment for allowing me to escape?" she asked. "yes," replied september. "okay, apology accepted," Christine said.****

To be continued in chapter 6 august and Christine hollis 'life on the run'.


End file.
